Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
No recent travel & transport from BBC stories as at 07:35 02 May 2024
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 18/05/24 - BRTA Westbury
22/05/24 - WWRUG / TransWilts update
02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber

On this day
2nd May (1859)
Wilton South station opened

Train RunningCancelled
05:03 Penzance to London Paddington
05:23 Hereford to London Paddington
06:37 Plymouth to London Paddington
07:17 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington
07:33 Weymouth to Gloucester
07:40 Bristol Temple Meads to Westbury
Short Run
06:04 Paignton to Exmouth
06:18 Yeovil Pen Mill to Filton Abbey Wood
06:34 Paignton to Exmouth
06:38 Weymouth to Gloucester
06:52 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads
07:12 Newquay to Par
07:13 Great Malvern to London Paddington
11:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
Delayed
06:00 London Paddington to Penzance
06:43 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington
PollsThere are no open or recent polls
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
May 02, 2024, 07:50:17 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[147] Train drivers "overwhelmingly white middle aged men"
[83] Leven, Fife, Scotland, fast forward a month
[49] Visiting the pub on the way home.
[44] underground plans for Bristol update.
[32] Vintage film - how valid are these issues today?
[31] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Public transport - is it expensive in the UK, and if so, why?  (Read 874 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40850



View Profile WWW Email
« on: May 11, 2022, 07:32:00 »

From my Facebook feed - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ukraine2uk/posts/507117634477089/ (declaration of interest - I'm an admin of that group and we're expecting our own Ukrainian guests this weekend)

Quote
Good afternoon. Please tell me if there are any free travel cards or something like that.  Very expensive transport for Ukrainian refugees.

This is in particular a question that was asked in relation to our local bus fares, but general comments / thoughts welcome. 

Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40850



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2022, 07:55:09 »

Starters ...

Quick answer - I am not aware of any cards or special bus concessions for guests from Ukraine, apart from one offer of free travel to reach your host when you arrive, from First Bus who operate the D1 service from Bath through to Warminster.  In practical terms, I have not yet heard of anyone using this as most guests are being met by their hosts at airports or major rail stations and not being left to find their own way by bus to the place they'll be staying.  There is a similar "get you there" by train scheme if you have proof of arival within 48 hours.

I do a lot of public transport work and am addressing the issue in a discussion at http://www.passenger.chat/26342 . There are twelve different bus opeators (at the last count) in Wiltshire, and each has there own fare system, special offers, and each is a company who are - in nearly every case - responible to their owners to make a profit or at least break even.  Subsidies and grants help keep services running and provide some regulation of fares but, yes, UK (United Kingdom) fares tend to be expensive compared to other countries and I don't have an easy answer.  I am speaking to Wiltshire Council tomorrow and I will ask if there are any county-wide opportunities.  In reallity, I'm expecting that apart from a few "headliners" such as the First Bus one which provides them with great publicity and almost zero cost, there will be little "special".  I could be wrong, and after speaking with County I may approach bus companies and explain to them that a concession for a month would help their business in the future by getting people onto the buses and it becoming a way of daily life.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page